[VHFcontesting] The ARRL UHF contest and Rovermania III

[jcplatt1 at mmm.com]

Hello fellow VHF/UHF/microwave contesting enthusiasts.

Although its still a good six weeks away, please mark August 4 & 5 on your
calendars for the ARRL UHF contest.    As many of you are aware, over the
last two years, the NLRS has been positioning this fun ARRL contest event
as "Rovermania".   You can see some of our clubs efforts at
http://www.nlrs.org/#AugUHF_Rover .   You can also see a PowerPoint
presentation that I put together last year on Rovermania at
http://www.nlrs.org/Aurora-2005/Presentations/W0ZQ/index.htm .   This year
will be Rovermania III.

In 2003 the ARRL received only 140 logs from the UHF contest thus starting
discussions about how UHF contesting is dying.   In 2004, the year that
Rovermania was born, there were 169 logs received, and last year, 2005,
there were 183.    If you like percentages, that is a 31% increase.
Looking at rover number, in 2005, 32 of the 183 log that were received were
rovers !

Why is roving and the UHF contest such a good match ?    First, its the
perfect contest for roving because you can leave the huge 6 and 2m antennas
at home.   Second, amazing distances can be spanned on 222 and up.   Third,
lots of guys need those rare grids on those rare bands so you are DX.   And
last, the UHF contest is only 24 hours so it leaves plenty of time over the
weekend for other important non-ham activities.

I would also like to mention how much activity a rover or two can generate
in a contest like this.  Now, think what it would be like to have three,
four, or five rovers out and about in your area .... the activity level
quickly accelerates.    Rovers work rovers, rovers work fixed stations, and
more fixed stations work each other because the rover activity makes them
stick around.     Even a casual Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning visit
to a local grid corner with one or two bands is fun and stimulates
activity.     Here in NLRS-land, due to Rovermania, we had comments from
fixed stations that they didn't know which way to turn the antennas because
of all the rover activity !    What was the last time this happened in your
area during a UHF contest ?

In summary, mark your calendar for August 4 & 5.     Never roved before ?
This is the perfect contest to give it a try.    Start working with your
local club to organize activity, share equipment and/or antennas and to
loan out excess equipment.    Also, if you make a few contacts, please make
sure to submit your log as logs received is a key indicator of activity.

I believe that the high water mark for the number of UHF contest logs
received is 249.   This occurred in both 1994 and 1999.   Conditions during
any contest has a lot to do with how many logs get submitted, but given
that we have seen two years of increasing activity, and with 183 logs
submitted last year, we could be poised to set a new record for
participation.    Will you be a part of it ?

73, Jon
W0ZQ/R